IN THE wake of a formal objection being submitted against a 163-home development, villagers remain positive that they will be able to stop the developer in their tracks. 

The community-led action group, Stop Gleeson Homes @Houghton, previously made headlines by raising over £2,500 to hire a planning consultant to champion their cause against the Gleeson Homes development at Brunstock Lane, Houghton. 

Kyle Brown, a spokesperson for the group, re-emphasised that they 'understand the need for housing' but a build of this scale will add unnecessary strain on the current infrastructure as well as its impact on the environment. 

"There's about 400 comments on the Cumberland website from the public opposing the development, including some from large agencies such as the school and parish council. 

"We're pleased with the community response in raising the funds. It's not a case we don't want new housing, it's that it is nearly a 25 per cent increase on how many houses this village has got.

"We can't understand how the infrastructure will be able to cope.

"A lot of people are really worried about the strain on schools. The school has said they don't have extra capacity. Although Gleeson has said they will provide funding, throwing money at a problem doesn't always work. The school has said there is no room to expand. 

"All the money in the world won't help, if you can't expand the school you can't expand the school," Kyle said. 

Previously Gleeson Homes said a funding allocation would be given with the build to help support school capacity within the area. 

In an objection letter, signed off by the Governing Body of Houghton School, it stated payment of £452,550 would be made to Cumberland Council in order to expand the existing school and create 25 additional places if the build was to go ahead. 

However, the school states they are already 'significantly oversubscribed' with no means to extend the current infrastructure. 

With two previous Carlisle developments, additional school places had been funded by the developer. 

£13,855,000 is estimated to be spent on labour, goods and services in constructing the build if it goes ahead. 

"We understand a need for new housing. There's a Brownfield site in Houghton that is prime for development, people can't understand the scope and size in this location," Kyle added. 

Responding to the objections last month, a spokesperson from Gleeson Homes said: "We appreciate that some residents will have concerns relating to the development in Houghton and we have designed this scheme to ensure that it is resilient to climate change, incorporating sustainable drainage systems to reduce the chance of flooding and installing air source heat pumps within each home.

"A third of the site’s total area will remain undeveloped to allow the planting of hedges and wildflower meadows, increasing biodiversity on the development by at least 10 per cent.

"In response to residents’ concerns relating to increased demand on local infrastructure, we are working closely with Cumberland Council to ensure that there is no unnecessary pressure on the road network, with Houghton benefitting from excellent transport links to the motorway and city centre.

"Prior to the launch of our two Carlisle-based developments, we funded additional school places and we will be working closely with the council to ensure children living in our homes have school places within their catchment area," they said.